Pizza, Pizza!!!

Supplies!

Ready to Spread!

Dough ready to go!

Garlic "Butter" Spread

Making the crust YUMMY!

Sauce Time!!

Decorate Me Please!!

Extra Cheese on this one!!

Kale and Garlic Sprinkles!

Time to Eat!!

I cannot believe that I have had a blog for over a month and have not talked about our semi-homemade pizza!!!  This has to be one of our favorite meals hands down, my kids love it and I love making it because it's so simple.  I mean who doesn't love pizza it's such a classic pairing of yummy food!!  Seriously you can just forget ordering from the pizza shop, this tastes a hundred times better and is sooo much cheaper (music to my ears!!)  It all started when I was in Trader Joe's one day and I came across pre-made dough in a bag  that was 99 cents and vegan (its now a dollar and some change, but still worth it)!!!  I couldn't believe my luck, I remember as a kid my mom always used to do homemade pizza and it always tasted so good and was so much fun to make and then eat:)  So, I bought about five bags to test out and the rest is history.  I will buy at least 10 bags at a time (they look at me crazy, but I look at it as smart).  That way we are always able to have pizza, Stromboli, or garlic bread whenever we want!!  Tip: When freezing place on a flat surface otherwise it wraps around stuff, freezes, and gets stuck and takes hours to get undone,  no fun!
     I once read somewhere that if you wanted to lose weight you could only have pizza once a month, well that woman obviously had no kids and in this house it's more like once a week or so and can be lunch or dinner, we're flexible.  I always said that having my kids grow up vegan they were not going to be those kids that were left out and not able to be a "kid" eating the good stuff.  So we've adapted and with a little planning ahead, if I know there will be pizza at a party or dinner at my mom's or wherever, I will bring my own pizza and my kids have no problem feeling like all the other kids.  When my son was younger I used to let him have pizza with all his cousins, but I just knew I didn't want him to have all that Dairy or "cow's milk cheese" as my son now calls it and I know his tummy is thanking us for ridding him of the nastiness!!!
     I used to make pizza using just the dough from TJ's, pasta sauce and veggies, but as I became fond of Daiya, a Vegan cheese, I started using the mozzarella type shreds.  Let me tell you the story of this cheese because I first bought a bag of mozzarella and wasn't sure what to expect.  Well, let me just say after using the whole bag in some lasagna, I was not ever going to buy this again because it was awful and way too overpowering.  Little did I know that with Daiya cheese a little goes a long way, which is good news because at almost 5 dollars a bag its pricey.  Slowly I have begun to make pizza with the daiya cheese and topping with Kale and a sprinkling of garlic which gets super crispy on top!! It's delicious and my kids are getting more green veggies, love it!!!
     I always start by leaving the dough out to rise and thaw all day long(from frozen), that way it is super easy to spread out the dough.  It says only 30 mins(from the fridge), but I suggest at least an hour or two to be able to really spread without too much trouble.  I also always use the silpat or parchment paper because it sticks to everything and there is nothing worse than making a delicious pizza and not being able to eat because you can't get the bottom unstuck:(  Then I melt some earth balance vegan butter, with basil and garlic, and brush the edges to give some extra flavor, spread the sauce. and top with whatever you are feeling or have in the fridge.  Kale is a great addition, we used to do spinach, but it made it a bit to soggy.  Bake at 350F for 20 mins and then turn up to 400 for an extra 5 or 10 mins to crisp up the Kale, and eat up!!!
    So to sum up, you can put anything on this thing and it will be good, when I made without cheese my kids didn't even notice, but I like to spoil them occasionally (or all the time as my hubby says:)  and let them eat their Vegan Cheese to their hearts desire!!!  I just want my kids to never feel like they are missing out because they are vegan because this is the most amazing way to live and I want them to LOVE it too!!!

Vegan Pizza
1 bag Trader Joe's pre-made dough (in fridge section, by the meals to go area)
3/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 - 1 cup Daiya Cheese (or omit depending on your preference, if its your first time using, less is more!!!)
1-2 cups Kale
sprinkle of Garlic Powder
and add any additional veggies you like!!!

Bake at 350F for 20 mins and then 5-10 mins at 400F, Enjoy!!!
Here's some pics of all our varieties!!!

No Cheese!!

The Works No Cheese!!

Stromboli!!

Yummy!! with vegan "meatballs"

The Green Giant, broccoli, spinach, olives, peppers!  

Green Giant up close!!

Garlic Cheesy Bread, no sauce!!

Sausage and Kale anyone??

Happy New Year and a Yummy Coconut Cake!!!

Happy New Year to everyone!!!  Wow, time just keeps flying by and I cannot believe it is officially 2012!!!  It is so exciting to begin the new year feeling like anything is possible for this next year!!  I hope that this year I am able to make more yummy dishes that my kids love and try to up the plant happiness in this house!  I decided to celebrate the new year with a cake because it just felt like the time was right and I wanted to start a type of tradition for the kids that we all get together and figure out what we will try to be better at this year.  My three year old said he would be "more helpful", (he is just the sweetest), my 1 year old is not quite ready to let us in on her's and my hubby said "eat more veggies."  Gotta love these since they are not too daunting, but achievable and we will be doing!!!!  I am going to try to be more patient, with my kids and life in general, stop and smell the roses as they say, and of course to blog and share this delicious vegan food that we are enjoying with all of you and maybe inspire a change in you and your family!! Happy New Year!

The Original!

Now to the good part, a vegan coconut cake with my "bettercream" frosting, coated with coconut and served with a glass of cold plant milk! Warning this cake is extremely rich and yummy, and can be addicting!  I am not going to actually post the recipe as it is from the cookbook, Sweet Vegan by Emily Mainquist, and by the way, the book is amazing, get it!!!  I definitely wish I could take credit, but no such luck, if you want the recipe, send me a message and I can send it that way.  Coconut cake has always held a special place in my heart because I spent my 12th birthday with my late grandparents in Hawaii and my grandmother had this cake and I will never forget it (or her!!!) I have been on the hunt for it ever since, even when we returned for my 21st birthday, we tried to find it, but no such luck.  This cake was something you can only dream about, light and fluffy cake with frosting that was delicate and not too sweet, mmm... everything just worked perfectly together....  Well I am happy to say that this is the only cake that has even come close to the original and it's worth every minute of making!! It is a fairly simple recipe, the key to achieving the fluffiness in my opinion, is to mix it properly with enough whipping in between each addition of ingredients.  It is a three layer cake but due to my faulty cake pan, I only successfully removed 2 out of 3, which would have been really upsetting normally, but I think it was just as yummy with two layers and bonus, we got to sneak a taste:)  I waited for the cake to completely cool and then frosted and covered until the next day, before singing happy new year to the tune of the birthday song, finishing up with my kids getting to blow out candles for the new year!  I love that I can start to have fun little traditions that help to celebrate our blessings and important moments in our lives.  Wishing you all the best this year!!  Lots of Love,

Mai

Supplies!

The beginning

Wet and dry ingredients!

Cake Batter, MMM!!!

Ready to Bake!

Mai's "Bettercream" Frosting!!

Cakes Baking!!

Cakes Cooling!!

Frosting!!

Finished Product!

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) dairy free margarine, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 cups coconut milk (1 can)

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon coconut flavoring

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Mai's "BetterCream" Frosting 

(recipe in Mai Mai's Sugar Cookies Post)

Topping: ½ cup flaked, sweetened coconut

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two (or three) 9-inch cake pans.

Using an electric mixer, cream together margarine, sugar, coconut milk, vinegar, vanilla, and coconut. Cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add flour to creamed mixture, beating until just mixed. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4 inches above counter, then dropping it flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Cool in pans for 5 to 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto cooling racks.

Cool completely. In the meantime prepare frosting. Fill and spread cake layers with frosting and garnish with coconut flakes. Cook’s Note: As each layer is stacked, you can stick them with toothpicks to prevent cake from shifting (just be sure to warn your guests).

Vegan on the Go!!

Banana Leaf on Bethel!!

My boy loving the Indian donuts as he calls them!!

My one year old loving the dumplings!! At the Loving Hut!!

This was YUMMY!! at The Loving Hut

Well, I recently reactivated my account on facebook, so that I could let everyone know about my blog and I got my first question yesterday from an old friend.  She has long been a vegetarian but trying to go vegan was a bit overwhelming, she asked if I could put a couple of typical days' meals and places to eat while out and about, especially for the kids.  So I had to really sit down and think about this because I am lucky enough to try to plan on being at home for mealtimes, just so I don't have to worry about what to feed the kids (and to save some money, I seriously don't get the argument that pizza or eating out can save you any money at all because its at least 20 bucks for a family of four and most of my meals can be made for less than that, with LEFTOVERS!!)  This brings me to my first important note that leftovers are huge in this house because they save me time and they are just as good the next day, if not better:)  But leftovers can be tricky to eat while out because they often need to be heated and they are hard to eat while moving or strolling (as the kids are doing).  If I know I am going to be out with the kids, I will try to pack peanut butter and jelly sandwiches b/c this is a never fail choice for them and it's easy to pack and go.  We only have a handful of fast food places that we go to because of the limiting options, my number one would be Noodles and Co., as you cannot go wrong with pasta and they have a whole slew of vegan options, my kids love the Japanese pan noodles, which can be spicy, but I looked on their web page and many of there dishes can be made without the cheese and cream and there you go, a quick vegan option!!!!  The other two places that we eat are Banana Leaf on bethel, but its not for the faint hearted, some of their stuff is spicy, but my hubby and I love the Indian there, and we just made a new discovery; The Loving Hut, in Reynoldsburg, yes its a totally Vegan spot in Columbus, Ohio; hard to believe, but OMG, this place is sooooo good and everything is vegan, so you cannot go wrong!! If we lived even 20 minutes away from this restaurant we would be there all the time, the prices are amazing and I promise you will not be disappointed, try it out next time you are in the area!!!!
This all being said, it can be hard to get to these places, besides Noodles and Co.(they are popping up everywhere), but my hubby has just gotten a new job and now he is on the road for most of his lunches and he is finding luck at subway and taco bell.  At subway, he just gets a cold cut trio (with the meat on the side, to be fed to dogs!!, and no cheese), and at taco bell he gets a fresco bean burrito with no red sauce and extra lettuce!!  He tells me too that salads are always a no fail, but I know with kids that this is wishful thinking and its only some days I can get them to eat their salads.  The biggest thing when eating out is reading labels and asking questions, most places will be happy to substitute or make your meal made to order, I never feel bad about asking because if we are spending our hard earned money there, we deserve it!!
I am putting together a list of all the quick lunch options that we do at home for the kids, plus pictures too!! I know that food is better spoken through pictures and words, than just words so I will get too work!! Thanks Jen for the questions and keep them coming everyone, I love helping anyone who wants to start getting "Veganish" and I am learning while researching too!!!